Thursday Afternoon Tailgate: Week 12 (Thanksgiving Edition!)

Happy Turkey Day, everyone! It's my favorite day of the year, and my mother has outdone herself cooking a feast fit for royalty. The gameplan is simple: Wake up and watch the parade, stuff myself silly, fall asleep watching the Lions-Packers, Cowboys-Raiders, and Steelers-Ravens games. I'm not giving away any recipes today (sorry, folks!), but I will share some photos of the Thanksgiving table and make my first playoff predictions of the season. 

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EAGLES PREDICTION: Bye Week


MY RECORD: 8-3 


PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: As you can see, I'm doing pretty good with my Eagles predictions this season (I still can't get over that loss to San Diego!). And so, for fun, starting this week, I'm going to be predicting the playoffs. I'll keep adjusting my prediction each week, but six weeks from now, we'll look back and see how close I came with this original lineup.

We'll know more this time next week, but right now, in the AFC, I feel pretty confident about my first three picks. The Chiefs are also a lock for the first wildcard spot. Cincinnati still has some games to win to secure their division, but they are the front-runners. The Steelers are the only pick I'm not real confident in. I have them going, but the Titans and Chargers may both have something to say about that (and defending Champs Baltimore are still technically in the hunt).

As for the NFC, Seattle and New Orleans are going 1 and 2 respectively (I could have them switched here). After that, things get tougher. The NFC North is really a three-horse race between the Lions (who aren't playing well right now), da Bears, and the Packers. I'm giving the slight nod to Detroit because they are currently in the lead and are the only team in that division that still has a healthy starting QB. In the NFC East its going to be either the Eagles or the Cowboys (and it will probably come down to the very last game in Dallas). I can't imagine the Panthers not making the playoffs given how well they are playing right now. So, for me, they are a lock for (at least) one of the two wildcard spots. As with the AFC, that last wildcard slot is not one I feel terribly confident in. The underwhelming 49ers have one of the easiest schedules from here on out, so I am giving them the edge, but one of the teams from the North could easily steal the position if they don't split their remaining head-to-head match-ups.

AFC

1. Denver Broncos (14-2)
2. New England Patriots (13-3)
3. Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
5. Kansas City Chiefs (13-3, Wildcard)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7, Wildcard)

NFC

1. New Orleans Saints (14-2)
2. Seattle Seahawks (14-2)
3. Detroit Lions (11-5)
4. Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
5. Carolina Panthers (11-5, Wildcard)
6. San Francisco 49ers (11-5, Wildcard)